


Boiling Tea

by KonoeYuuki



Series: Life with Akira Kurusu [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, Love, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 19:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20140780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KonoeYuuki/pseuds/KonoeYuuki
Summary: A short and sentimental 1st person inquiry into the heart of Akira Kurusu.





	Boiling Tea

I was standing in the kitchen boiling tea when I realized I loved Kurusu.

  
It wasn’t a dramatic Hollywood kiss in the rain moment, or a heartfelt after-school confession in an orange-glow sunset.   
  
In one moment I was turning on the stove and preparing the kettle, and in the next I was a victim of his dark eyes and curls in his hair. From clear blue skies to a gray and cloudy tempest of emotion.

Over the next few days, I couldn’t bare to face him at school, and whenever I closed my eyes for a few seconds, images of Kurusu smiling or laughing burned into the inside of my eyelids. The sound of his voice across the room talking to the girl near him was torture to my ears, I wanted to be as far away from him as I could.   
  
But at the same time, I didn’t.   
  
I wanted to be surrounded by him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to spend time with him.   
  
I never thought this way about anybody before, and now my emotions were flying freely through my head without much control.

  
I loved Kurusu. I loved every detail about him. I loved how innocent he looked when he cleaned his glasses or idly twirled his hair. I loved how he pretended to hide the kitty in his desk even though we all knew he smuggled it into school every day.   
  
It took weeks of building courage to introduce myself, and the opportunity arrived due to a strike of pathetic luck anyways. Ms. Kawakami needed help carrying heavy boxes of files to the teachers lounge and asked the two closest students to her, those being myself and Kurusu.   
  


My heart nearly beat out of my chest. To be so physically close, yet so socially distant to someone I thought about so much. I nearly tripped looking at him so much, and yet, I wanted him away from me. I hated and loved the way Kurusu made me feel.   
  
After we were done helping, Kurusu introduced himself to me. The sweetest boy in the world, the only boy in my world at the moment. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes, out of the fear of falling even more. I avoided Kurusu’s gaze and stumbled my way through an introduction. Realizing we lived less than a mile from each other, we decided to exchange contact information, You know, just in case of emergency.   
  
I couldn’t have been happier.   
  
In the months that followed, I occasionally ran into Kurusu on the train to and from school, almost as if introducing myself increased his drop rate into my life.   
  
Whenever I talked to him, we would sit facing the same way on the train, or walking down the same street. Two souls going in the same direction. My conversations with Kurusu were casual: school, television, video games, food. And yet in every conversation, I learned new things about him. Small details about Kurusu that made him so much more human to me instead of just an untouchable dream.   
  
And one day,   
  
“Kurusu, I think I love you.”   
  
I was talking to him on the phone when I said that.   
  
I don’t remember how or why or what led up to it. I was lying on my bed after a shower, staring blankly at the ceiling with no intonation in my voice.   
  


I was being honest with my feelings, and I wanted him to know. Immediately after saying that, I feel like I could have died and not left a shred of a regret on Earth.    
  
“You umm . . . you what?”   
  
“I uhh . . . I love you.”

  
“You’re confessing over the phone?”   
  


Damn right I am. __   
__   
“Yes.”

  
Silence followed for a few seconds as he sighed and stumbled over the beginnings of words.   
  
“Do you want to come to LeBlanc to talk about it in person?”   
  
  
  
Cafe LeBlanc was always a safe haven for me, even before I had met Kurusu. After meeting him, I found myself here whenever I could. LeBlanc had the best coffee and curry. LeBlanc had a warm and comfy atmosphere that separated it from the rest of the city.   
  
But at this moment, the most important thing was, LeBlanc had Kurusu.   
  
Upon arriving, I stood under the small red and white awning and looked up at the sky. Rain threatened the citizens of Tokyo from behind the cover of heavy and gray clouds.   
  


From behind the mahogany and glass door, I could see Kurusu smile and nod at me, as if to say: “come in”.   
  
It’s funny how feelings can change a person. Before meeting him, I wouldn’t have ever dared to drink coffee. Coffee always seemed bitter and gross to me, my preferable alternative was always tea.   
  
But now just the smell of coffee reminded me of him, of the dark curls in his hair and the smoothness of his voice.   
  
And entering LeBlanc was no exception. In this moment, I was surrounded by Kurusu. I was in his world, his zone, his habitat.    
  


Preparing two cups of coffee for us and making his way around the counter, Kurusu sat next to me as we both stared at the impressive collection of coffee bean jars neatly stacked along the wall. For a few moments, a deafening silence invaded the air. In response to this, Kurusu would occasionally take a sip of coffee and twirl his hair or tap his fingers on the innocent counter attempting to keep the dying heartbeat of this tense event alive until it’s last breath.   
  
Static noise went off in my head and I realized the mistakes I had committed.

I was making him uncomfortable. I was making myself uncomfortable. The mission had failed and our agents had to be aborted immediately as a precautionary measure.   
  
I pushed away from the counter and began to stand, tears slowly welling in my eyes.

  
“Y-You’re leaving already?”   
  
“Yes. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”   
  
I began to walk toward the door but . . .

  
“I don’t understand. First you say you love me over the phone and now . . .”   
  
I froze mid-step.   
  
“It was just a joke right? It was a joke.”   
  
Pain lined the inside of his voice. It seemed like he was bothered I was taking up so much of his time with such a dramatic moment for nothing. Kurusu began to collect the cups and saucers and wash them in the sink.   
  
No, I did love him. I did. Every moment spent thinking about him or wondering what he was doing, every moment spent picking an outfit so he could notice me, every moment spent thinking about confessing at this moment, that I was about to pass on because I was too afraid.   
  
“My feelings aren’t a joke.”   
  
“Then explain your feelings.”   
  
My back was still to him and I could still hear the sink water running. Outside, a steady rain beat on the glass panes of the door like a heartbeat. That, or it was my own heart attempting to free itself from my chest.   
  
“Kurusu, I . . . I love you. I’m sorry. I don’t know when or why but I realized you’re the only person I think about recently. We’ve only gotten to know each other for a few months but I love you. I do. I don’t have other words for it. Everything about you brings light into my life. I live alone and I do most things alone, but with you . . . my life has detail and it has color and it’s hopeful. That’s what you are to me. Hope. And I only want you to know that I-”   
  
He turns me around and pulls me into a hug. My face is buried into his chest, and I could feel his heart beating under his chest as strongly as mine.   
  
“Now look me in the eyes and tell me that.”   
  
I lift my face to look up at him and for the first time, in his eyes, I don’t see Kurusu.   
  
  
I see Akira. His warm smile and strong dark eyes welcoming me. For the first time, I feel a safety and bliss unlike any other. I can feel his warm breath and the gentle scent of coffee on his clothes.   
  
“I-I can’t . . .”   
  
“Then . . .”   
  
Akira presses his forehead against mine and I can feel his soft and curly hair against my skin. Both of our faces are completely flushed and blushing a bright shade of red.   
  
“. . . show me you love me another way.”   
  
I close my eyes, lean against him and raise myself on my toes to reach his lips and kiss him. My arms wrap around his neck and I run my fingers through his hair.   
  


Akira’s lips are soft and warm and slightly bitter from the black coffee he was drinking. His glasses begin to slide off his nose and onto my face, eliciting a gentle giggle from both of us as he takes them off and sets them on the counter. Kissing me again, Akira is much more aggressive and in control the second time. Like a lead dancer in a tango.

  
This being my first kiss, I barely knew how to pucker my lips and move them awkwardly. But in this moment, I wasn’t worried about disappointing Akira. I wanted him to know how much I loved him. I gently stroked his soft hair and twirled it in my fingers. I knew this pleased him because of how he sighed whenever I picked a new spot in his hair to play with.   
  
His kissing was addictive. Just one small taste and I kept wanting to explore more and more. Quickly growing out of breath, I pulled away from him and sighed deeply.   
  
For a few seconds after, I kept my eyes closed. I wanted to enjoy the warm glow of the moment. I wanted to stay here forever. I wanted to kiss Akira forever.   
  
I leaned forward and hugged him again, burying my face into his clothes.   
  
There was no safer place in the world than in Akira’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I love Akira Kurusu so much! He makes me so happy! These first person writing samples are out of my love for practicing literature and out of the love for this character as well. I hope you enjoyed it reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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